Matt Martin | Winger

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Matt Martin has served his one game suspension for kneeing Trevor Daley and can return on Saturday.

Martin thought the disciplinary hearing was fair and was quite sorry for his hit on Daley and let him know so through a text. "I texted him and told him I was sorry for the play, and he wrote back saying he knew it wasn't my intent and that he loves the way I play," Martin said. "You hear that from a guy you compete against, it's good. He certainly could have been real sour about the whole thing and I wouldn't have blamed him." Martin is having a good fantasy season with eight goals and 14 points to go with 114 penalty minutes. He also leads the NHL in hits with 318, 43 ahead of teammate Cal Clutterbuck who is second in the league. Mar 7 - 8:25 AM

Matt Martin was at practice on Friday after breaking his nose in a fight with Ryan White on Thursday.

The Islanders tough guy missed the rest of the first period but was back out for the second. "For me, Matty's the first star of the night," coach Jack Capuano said after the game Thursday. "He tries to get us going in a tough building, then he comes back after having his nose broken." Martin is having a nice season for an enforcer with 78 penalty minutes to go with seven goals and nine points. He leads the NHL in hits with 253, 37 ahead of teammate Cal Clutterbuck and 56 ahead of Brooks Orpik. Feb 7 - 9:06 AM

Depth Charts

John Tavares has three assists in Sunday's 5-4 win over the Detroit Red Wings.

The Wings jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period but the Islanders fought back and the game was tied at three after 20 minutes. Tavares helped set up goals by Ryan Strome and Kyle Okposo in the first period and Frans Nielsen in the second period. The 24-year-old has emerged as a legitimate Hart Trophy candidate this season. Tavares has 34 goals and 77 points in 77 games this season. He will come close to reaching his career-high of 81 points.

Anders Lee was the only goal scorer for the Islanders in Tuesday's 2-1 loss to the Rangers.

The 23rd of the season for Lee opened the scoring midway through the first period, but he hand his teammates were unable to solve Cam Talbot after that point. Fellow youngsters Ryan Strome and Brock Nelson drew assists on the lone tally.

Matt Martin has served his one game suspension for kneeing Trevor Daley and can return on Saturday.

Martin thought the disciplinary hearing was fair and was quite sorry for his hit on Daley and let him know so through a text. "I texted him and told him I was sorry for the play, and he wrote back saying he knew it wasn't my intent and that he loves the way I play," Martin said. "You hear that from a guy you compete against, it's good. He certainly could have been real sour about the whole thing and I wouldn't have blamed him." Martin is having a good fantasy season with eight goals and 14 points to go with 114 penalty minutes. He also leads the NHL in hits with 318, 43 ahead of teammate Cal Clutterbuck who is second in the league.

Brock Nelson scored a goal and added an assist for the Islanders in Tuesday's 5-1 win over the Coyotes.

Nelson had recorded just two points in his prior 10 games entering tonight so this was a welcome breakout for his fantasy owners. Unheralded rookie Kael Mouillerat also picked up his first two career points with a goal and an assist in the victory while Matt Martin, Johnny Boychuk and Anders Lee also tallied for the Isles.

After just appearing in his fifth game of the year Thursday night in Nashville, the veteran tough-guy will once again be listed as a healthy scratch Monday. He has played in just one game since December 11th and two since November 8th and it appears his NHL career is nearing its final stages.

Kyle Okposo had an assist in the Islanders' 2-1 shootout loss to Minnesota Tuesday night.

Okposo didn't record a point in his first four games after returning from a detached retina, but he's bounced back by registered a point in each of his last two contests. He has 15 goals and 46 points in 52 games this season.

Josh Bailey had an assist in the Islanders' 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings Thursday night.

Bailey has 15 goals and 38 points in 63 contests in 2014-15. At the age of 25 and with 469 NHL games under his belt, we don't see Bailey taking a big step up in the future. At this point what you see if pretty much what you should expect to get going forward.

Tyler Kennedy scored a goal in Friday's 2-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators.

The Islanders were shut out until Kennedy beat Senators' goalie Andrew Hammond at the 11:59 mark of the third period. The goal cut the Sens' lead to 2-1. Lubomir Visnovsky and Nikolay Kulemin registered the assists on the New York's only goal. Kennedy now has three points in his last three contests. The 28-year-old won't ever be confused with an offensive force. He has six goals and 12 points in 28 games this season.

Nikolay Kulemin scored the only Islanders goal Tuesday as the team was upended by Chicago by a score of 4-1.

Kulemin's goal came late in the third period after the outcome had already been decided so it accomplished little more than ruining Corey Crawford's shutout bid. Formerly a 30-goal scorer with Toronto, the Islanders' winger now serves as a depth forward with his new club.

Cal Clutterbuck will skate on the Islanders' third line to the left of Brock Nelson and Nikolay Kulemin on Thursday night against Toronto.

Clutterbuck missed the previous two games with an upper body injury. He trails only teammate Matt Martin for most hits in the NHL, but it's not even close. Regardless, if you're in a league that rewards his 220 hits, 42 PIMs, and 12 points over 49 games this season, then get The Buck back in your lineup.

Colin McDonald, Matt Donovan, and Eric Boulton will be scratched on Friday night against the Ottawa Senators.

Unfortunately none of these three players have much fantasy value, but that's mainly due to a lack of playing time. McDonald has eight points and 71 hits, but has played just 17 games. Donovan has played just nine games, and none since the first week of January. And Boulton has just five games under his belt despite nearly 1400 career PIMs.

Johnny Boychuk has agreed to a seven-year, $42 million extension with the New York Islanders.

In other words, Boychuk will come with a $6 million annual cap hit. The Islanders acquired Boychuk from the Boston Bruins before the season opener. He's proven to be a great fit, recording seven goals and 32 points in 59 contests while averaging 21:37 minutes of ice time.

Nick Leddy recorded two assists in the Islanders' 5-4 win over Detroit on Sunday.

Leddy now has 10 goals and 31 points in 73 games in 2014-15. He's reached the 30-point mark in each of his last three campaigns (not including the lockout shortened 2013 season), and at the age of 24, he should have many more campaigns like that ahead of him.

Calvin De Haan and Michael Grabner were scratched from Sunday's tilt with the Detroit Red wings.

This is Grabner's sixth straight game in the stands. He's produced just 12 points and 59 hits over 31 games this season. De Haan meanwhile has been a workhorse for the Islanders and fantasy owners alike, accumulating 130 blocks and 136 hits through 64 games.

Hamonic has five goals and 30 points in 65 games in 2014-15. This is the first time he's reached the 30-point mark in his career, but it likely won't be the last time the 24-year-old defenseman reaches that milestone. He also has 85 penalty minutes this season, which is good for fifth place among blueliners.

Thomas Hickey had two assists in a 3-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers.

Hickey has two goals and 18 points in 53 contests in 2014-15. The 26-year-old defenseman is in his sophomore campaign and should be able to comfortably surpass his rookie total of 22 points in 82 contests.

Halak allowed three goals in the first period alone but he settled down nicely after that. The 29-year-old is now 1-1-1 in his last three games and his overall record improves to 36-16-2 in 2014-15. Halak has a 2.42 goals-against-average and a .913 save percentage. It's just the second time in six games that Halak has allowed more than two goals in a game.